christianised standing stone?

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BigSweetie B
BigSweetie Sep 16, 2005 15:32:44
Replying to Lianachan

Hi Lianachan,

It's definitely not an Class III stone, it's a lot more primitive than that. it's just a huge cross gouged out of what is almost certainly an old standing stone

as for this particular <a href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/5085">Kilmorich</a>, Watson believes it contains the name Muireadhach which may be St Muireadhach, abbot of Hi, who died in 1011 (cf St Muireach's Well at Mains of Kilmorick in the 1845 Statistical Account, p997)

the field at Kilmorich is very interesting actually (<a href+"http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/5085">click here for it's page on TMA</a>, with what's probably a long barrow sticking out of a round cairn

the Scottish Megaraks visited it back in 2002, <a href="http://www.andysweet.co.uk/stones/megaraks/october2002-2.html">here</a>

Cheers
Andy

L Lianachan
Lianachan Sep 16, 2005 16:23:09
Replying to BigSweetie

Some Class III stones are undressed - I believe some people label those as "Class IV"? Could it be one of those?

The cross has obviously been carved onto the stone, which does indeed seem to be a standing stone, some time after the arrival of Christianity - which would date that area to Pictish times? Watson's etymology of Kilmorich seems sensible enough, although I have seen criticism of his etymology of names in Pictish areas (notably by Dr Katherine Forsyth in "Language In Pictland", 1997). So maybe it's not a Pictish symbol stone as such, but I would be extremely surprised if the people who inscribed the stone weren't Picts. It's a pity nothing seems to be known about the chapel, I think we could gain much from knowledge of that.

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